


Enter the Beast

by RoyaltySTUDIO



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Angst, Blood, Cannibalism, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Gore, M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Slow Burn, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-10-18 00:45:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17571071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyaltySTUDIO/pseuds/RoyaltySTUDIO
Summary: Alexander Hamilton, the son of a penniless family, heads out into the forest to gather firewood and encounters a beast.





	Enter the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> sorry for my lack of activity, academic and personal things got in the way and motivation just bleh (i'm sorry for this shit excuse ;;)
> 
> https://royaltystudio.tumblr.com/

 

**October**

 

Leaves crunched and twigs snapped under a heavy set of weight that walked towards a group of young, naive men, who chatted with one another. His forceful quiet steps prodded low against the leaves, with awakening movements. A broad body and tall, enough to squeeze the life out of a man. One of the members sitting on the ground glanced up. Panic flooded his vision, as he grabbed his axe quickly from the ground.

The beast's speed quickened at the sight of a sharp, metallic object, giving it a strange sense of satisfaction. The head of the weapon, connected to a thick stick of wood that was enveloped around a pair of hands. The head was similar to a rectangle but wider at the further edges. The edges shimmered in the light and were risen high into the air to perform a swing.

"Ugh, my  _arms_..." Alexander whined.

Alexander wiped his forehead with the back of his hand after slashing away at the chopped wood. He handed his axe to Hercules when his hands were unoccupied.

Lafayette warned him to keep working, or else Hercules would come back to see a lazy petit lion sitting on the ground doing nothing. 

The young man used his hands to rub at his shoulders and moved those shoulders in a circling motion to stretch them out. He's been chopping wood for almost an hour but was supposed to do half that time. Hercules was supposed to take over but instead, he ran to the shop to buy some refreshments.

A pool of salt boiled in Alex's stomach, feeling as if Herc left him to do all that work so he didn't have to.

"Thanks..." Alexander muttered, grabbing a refreshing glass of water and gulped it all.

"No problem, man." Herc grinned. His hands wrapped around the handle and swung it down onto a block of wood Laurens put there, who quickly retracted his hand away before it could get slashed.

"Why does John get the easiest job?" Hamilton placed his hands onto his torso and glanced over towards a hard-working Hercules. With his broad build and strong muscles, he worked non-stop like a machine. He could earn well if he were to work as a lumberman. Too bad he decided to become a tailor's apprentice. 

Laurens shrugged his shoulders as he drank from his glass. "It's not that easy. I could get my fingers chopped off, y'know?" The freckled man smugly grinned. He placed his cup on the grass after Hercules demolished the chunks of wood into smaller chunks. The two built a cycle, where Laurens would place a piece of wood on the tree stump, pull his hand away and Herc would chop it into two.

"Better than nothing, non?" Lafayette chuckled. He leaned against a thick pine tree, with his hands behind his head as he relaxed in the temporary bright sunlight. 

"Why do you have to sit out again? Alexander questioned.

"Sprained my wrist, remember?" Laf lifted up his right arm, revealing a wrist brace wrapped around his wrist to secure it from any movements. Lafayette sprained his wrist because of Alexander. The two were chasing each other out in the woods for fun until Laf broke it, by running down a hill and didn't realise there was a ditch at the bottom. Alexander's attention was caught by the sound of pained yells.

"Oh, yeah..." Alex muttered. "when's that gonna get fixed?"

"In about a week." Lafayette used left hand, gesturing a "so-so" action.

"Don't sprained wrists heal in about a week or two? It's been  _three_." Alexander's eyes narrowed.

Lafayette shrugged with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Fuck, I'm hungry..." Laurens complained, placing his hand onto his stomach.

"Didn't you eat breakfast?" Alexander questioned.

"If you're talking about three pints of Sam Adams, then yes." 

"How is  _that_  breakfast?"

"Says the guy who doesn't actually eat it."

Lafayette and Herc made "oo" sounds after their engaging conversation that was somewhat amusing.

"Yeah, yeah..." Alexander rolled his eyes with a small smile appearing on his face.

"How is your mother, Alexander?" Lafayette questioned.

"Still coughing." Alexander trailed off. He didn't enjoy talking about his mother, but it was the only way to relieve the tension off his shoulders. It was a vent and he didn't like venting about his problems. He didn't want to involve his friends who had nothing to do with his issues. But venting helped him. By talking, his friends provided him with human necessities and built up some money to purchase his mother medication.

"Have you given her the coughing drops?" Laf asked.

"I have, but she spat them out."

Lafayette clicked his tongue twice and shook his head in disappointment. 

The gang wasn't quite sure of Alexander's mother's condition. They met her and would never regret their visit. She was a sweet, late-middle-aged woman, who enjoyed the company of others. She cooked them food even though they ate (Laurens took it anyway) and gave them a room to stay at dusk.

When Alexander's mother showed symptoms of a sickness, Alexander assumed it was a minor fever that would disappear after days of sleeping and warm pottage. Ironically, the fever stayed for a month and Alex began to worry. He took his mother to a nearby health clinic, where doctors presumed it was something with her lungs and would have to arrange a surgery. However, that costed a large sum of money.

His mother brushed it off like it was nothing and promised that it wasn't anything severe.

A few weeks later, her illness grew worse. Her skin grew pale and sick, her eyes looked bloodshot, she coughed here and there, every minute or so and she couldn't move easily. Whenever she did, she claimed it felt like walking on eggshells. She needed help going to the restroom, bathing and everyday chores. Alexander couldn't work at home and his job at the same time, so he had a schedule to perform certain routines. 

Alexander kept trying to find a cure for her sickness but at the same time, a dreaded feeling in his stomach pooled of doubt and hopelessness. That thought stuck in the back of his head and sometimes during his breakdowns, he pulled it up and cried tears that resembled rivers.

Money was limited and the two were on a tight budget. Alexander spent most of his savings on his mother's medication, along with their daily necessities. And to add salt to the wound, he had bills to pay in a matter of weeks. Curse late autumn and her cold nature. The small garden in their backyard wasn't going to produce anything in the upcoming cold season. Alexander and his mother were now dependent on grocery shopping.

"Did you take her to the clinic recently?" Herc asked, before slashing the axe downwards.

"Last week, yeah." Alex didn't want to describe the frustration of getting his mother to the health centre. Her movements were limited and Alexander had to pay money for a carriage that smelled like faeces.

"What'd the doc say?"

"He said the same thing. Keep giving her prescribed pills and be by her side at all times." He grumbled. The doctors were practically useless. He wouldn't blame them. Living in a village in the middle of a forest-  _prone_  to wild animals couldn't compete with families and their children. Nobody liked how it became extremely dark every night and to make it worse, the leaves and branches covered the moonlight. Elsewhere, a doctor could earn more than what they receive at the town they're staying at.

The village was surrounded by ginormous trees. They ranged from at least fifteen feet to twenty. A wet dream for a lumberjack but considerably difficult. The bark was thick like rock, enough that it took several people to cut through it. Lumberjacks were required to be careful about their precision and aim. There are times they underestimate the height of the tree and it falls onto a building or a person. 

Alexander had the job of cutting already chopped wood but into smaller pieces. He worked under a boss in charge of a wood-working shop and Alex was one of his little slaves. Alexander was surprised at the outcome of landing a job- especially the one chopping. He had noodle arms, a small frame and short height. His boss suggested becoming a secretary- but Hamilton refused that offer. He made a small fit and almost lost his opportunity until his friend John Laurens stepped in and apologized for Alexander's fiery temper.

"I'm gonna go get something to eat," Laurens cut off the silence. He got up from the ground and placed his empty cup onto tray Hercules used to carry the four drinks. "Anyone wanna join me?"

"Me!" Alexander scrambled up from the grass and brushed away any green strands off his pants. Lafayette and Hercules rolled their eyes, watching the two young men walk away, most likely towards the nearest supermarket to grab an apple or two.

Alexander grabbed a red market basket and held the handles into both of his hands.

"I'll pay," Laurens declared.

"What? No, you did that last time."

"I'm not the one starving money, Alex."

Alexander pouted. "Don't have to rub it in my face..."

Laurens snorted. "Let's get some apples."

The shops were outdoors and on the sides. Customers lined the pathway, looking left and right to what grabbed their interest.

Alexander and John were out looking for some food to eat and bring some home if possible.

The two explored the marketplace for five minutes and finally found an apple shop, with baskets of freshly picked apples from the apple orchards. 

There was an elderly man who greeted them with a kind, small smile. He held hands behind his back behind his little shop. The senior's smile increased when he noticed two young men approaching him.

"Four apples, please." Laurens pointed four digits in the air and the elderly man nodded his head. He grabbed four red apples in the baskets laid in front of him and placed them into a paper bag. He handed the bag over to the men and in return, received his change.

Before the two could make their leave, the elderly man brought his hand in front of him and pointed his index finger. "Are you the two who work at the wood-working company?" He questioned.

The two looked at each other before nodding their heads slowly.

"Be careful. Rumours say a wendigo lurks in the forest."

Alexander tilted his head to the side. " _Wendigo_?" He repeated the name. He had only heard that word two times in his twenty years of living, by walking down the street and hearing villagers mention it.

"If I can recall, they're mythical, cold-blooded creatures that feast on human flesh," Laurens explained.

"I'm sure you two are in your early twenties. Wendigos prey on the young. Be careful. " The shopkeeper added in. Instead of his sweet, innocent expression, turned into a serious tone. Honesty flooded his face and the man was sincere.

"I'm sure we will be fine, sir," John assured him, before giving the elderly man the coins he had tucked away in his pocket.

"Just be safe." 

 

* * *

 

Alexander and John were walking down a local path, taken by the villagers of this town. They took a quick shortcut to make their way back to Hercules and Lafayette. On their way, the two young men converse with each other, talking about personal concerns or making corny jokes.

"Hey, John," Alexander started.

"Yeah?" The freckled man replied. He took an apple out of the bag he was carrying, taking a bite out of the side of it. He ground up the fleshy insides of the fruit, before turning it into mush and swallowed it down his oesophagus. 

"How do you know so much about wendigos?" Alex questioned.

"Ah, my mama told me a story about them. Mama tried scaring me because I occasionally stayed out late at night in the woods." Laurens laughed.

"Your mom hates it whenever you're late. Doesn't she punish you?" 

"She does. Paddle and everything." Laurens grinned.

"Geez..." Alexander huffed with a smile. He always assumed his mother was being a hard-ass on him, but realised that she rarely punished him. If he did anything bad, all she did was warn him.

"What about your mom?" John asked.

"Eh, she never punished me. She's too much of a sweetheart. I think it's because my dad left and she wanted me to have a really good life."

The freckled man nodded his head and understood. "My mom is such a hard-ass. Last night she got  _so_  pissed off because I arrived home late. Her face was _so_ red!" Laurens exclaimed. He raised his occupied hand and bit into the savoury inner flesh of the apple. 

As the two arrived back safely to their gang, they could hear Hercules and Lafayette were talking to one another. The noises increased each step they took. Herc, the non-lazy ass, seemed to have cut most of the pieces of wood into smaller chunks, a better job than what Alexander

"You two are back early." Lafayette glanced his head up from his sitting position.

"Yeah, we just ran out to buy a couple of apples," John stated, gesturing to the bag he was holding. He reached inside of the bag and grabbed for a random apple, tossing it to the Frenchman. With his uninjured arm, he raised his elbow up, where his hand managed to catch it the soaring red shape. He nibbled into the delicious red fruit, tasting its juiciness and freshness.

"John, I think I should really pay you back-"

"Alex, please, you're broke as a mule's ass." Laurens interrupted his friend from completing his sentence.

"But I feel bad if I don't-"

"And _I_ feel bad for taking some poor guy's money. Consider it as a gift, y'know?" John raised his brows with formed his lips into a straight line. He waited for Alex to sigh in defeat, in which he did.

"But _I'm_ buying this time," Alexander argued.

"Sure, sure..." Laurens rolled his eyes. He chomped down onto his apple, completing one side of the fruit. There were seeds poking out of the skin, where John thought it would be nice to bury it under the ground to let it grow. There was no need for any other trees, due to many living in the forest. 

The trees were massive and John nicknamed them "Big-Ass Trees". The trees were absolutely thick and their bark was as strong as a rock. It took a number of lumberjacks to cut through the actual bark and not the entire stem itself. It was difficult to differentiate the average length of a tree but occasionally, they were twenty to thirty feet tall. The tallest ranged back a couple of decades and it was cut down, unknowingly by the locals that it was the highest ever grown.

The branches were thick and the leaves covered up the sky. The only way to tell what was to get a bird's eye view. But ladders were not made for such height and the only way to guess were by the tree's girth.

The forest was told to carry abnormal creatures. However, most were told as fables and received by children from their parents.

After relaxing, Lafayette jolted from his position. "Do any of you know what time it is?" 

"Late afternoon?" Alexander suggested.

"Ah," Lafayette panicked. "I must be on my way. I'll catch you all tomorrow. Bo au revoir!" The Frenchman got up from his sitting position and went onto standing. He speed walked off, waving his hand at the remaining three.

"Where's he off to?" Alex asked.

"An appointment to check up on his arm," Herc answered.

"Oh..."

"Welp, I'm off. You two stay out of trouble." Hercules dropped the axe that collided to the grass and colourful leaves below with a soft thud. 

"Looks like it's just you and me," Laurens stated.

He took a bit of his apple once more and when Alex turned to react, he noticed his friend's fruit almost entirely eaten to its core. After completing the apple, he would dig his teeth near the core, revealing the seeds. He took one into his mouth but didn't swallow or chew it up. Instead, he created a small opening between his lips.

"John, what're you doin-"

He spat it out.

 

* * *

 

He couldn't _believe_  John actually managed to spit an apple seed in his mouth. _In his mouth!_ He could still taste the flavour.

Alexander returned home late that evening.

He shut the door behind his back, slipping off his shoes once he walked inside.

He saw a frail woman lying on the living room couch. A blanket covered her body, shielding her from the cold. The fireplace was running but the flames were little. There were sounds of sparks heard from the fire that caught up to Alexander's ears. 

"Hey, mom," Alexander spoke out. 

"Hello, Alexander. Did you have a good day out with your friends?" His mother replied. She lowered her hands and placed a book she was reading on her lap. A blanket covered her lower half, while she wore three layers of clothing on her body to keep herself warm. Not even the fireplace kept her at average temperature.

"Yeah, I had fun. John gave me some apples." He noted, showing the apples he had gathered in his arms. He placed them onto a poorly built coffee table in the living room. A leg was broken and had to be supported by a piece of wood. Alexander promised to fix it but never had the chance to.

He didn't bother telling his mother the fact John spat an apple seed into his mouth while trying to talk to him.

"That's nice of him." Rachel smiled in response.

John was cackling like a mad man and had been tearing up after three minutes of laughter. Alexander replied with a solid "fuck you" before stomping off, leaving his freckled friend in a chortling mess.

"We're running out on firewood. Did you purchase any charcoal today?" Rachel remarked as soon after her son entered.

"Sorry, mom..." He replied regretfully.

Being that forgetful idiot, he forgot to buy some while going out with John. The two had run out on charcoal a couple of days ago and relied mainly on firewood, where Alexander snuck a few pieces home to use. Charcoal was too expensive to purchase and since the two were on a budget, anything free was on their grasps.

"I washed the laundry recently. We can wear those to keep ourselves warm-"

"I can go get some charcoal."

"At this hour? I don't think the shops will be open until early morning-"

"Well, I can go out and quickly get some firewood. I think Herc might have chopped extra pieces of wood back in the forest," Alexander assured her. Hercules was a relentless machine gun. The arms of an Olympian athlete and the stamina of a marathon participant.

Her eyes sunk. "Are you sure, Alexander? It's far too dark out and you _know_ how dark it can get late at night. Not to mention predators lying around. We can just wait until tomorrow-"

"Mom, it's alright. It'll take _five_ minutes. Three if I run."

"I heard the news about a Wendigo prowling in the forest-"

"Isn't that some old child's tale?" Alex raised his brows. He didn't know his mother even believed in that silly fairytale. Alexander was a full grown, young man, capable of defending himself. Even if the legends were true, he had fists, feet and also nails to scratch and poke if he didn't chew them so often.

His mother wasn't quite sure. "Laurens' mother told me about it." 

Rachel believed in everything. Even if it sounded like absolute bullshit, she'd take it for granted.

"Well, John's mom jokes a lot. Makes sense how John gots his sick kicks." Alexander replied.

"But  _be_  careful. And wear your red cloak-"

"I got it, don't worry, mom."

He grabbed a bright red cloak, being hung up on a hook by its hood. Alexander wrapped it around his body and placed the hood over his head. He could smell soap radiating from the cloak, inhaling the fresh scent of laundry detergent. He loved the scent of soap, especially on his clothing. The market was a smelly place and Alex could just wrap a scarf around his nose and he would be fine.

"And besides, red suits you." Rachel smiled softly.

Alex didn't agree with her but let that comment slide. He was more of a green guy.

Alexander looked out the window, to see the grass on their front lawn being tossed around from the mighty wind storm. Alex grabbed the two strips of string from his cloak and tied it in a double knot for security. He grabbed a basket sitting on a drawer near the house's entrance. He wrapped his fingers around the handle, before lifting it off the furniture.

"Be home before dinner!" His mother called out from inside the house.

"Got it!" Alexander yelled in return, before heading out the door.

He walked through town, seeing as it was getting darker the more time he spent outdoors. He occasionally saw cats lurking outside and searching around for food scraps. Strangely enough, he hasn't seen a feline for the remainder of the day.

Did something happen to them?

Alexander habitually placed a bowl with bones of chick that still had some flesh attached out of his front porch to feed any cats lying around. He hadn't done it in the morning, because he had to get up bright and early for work. He was sure that the cats wouldn't stop visiting the town just because he didn't feed them one day. Meows were common, especially at night.

But right now, it was dead quiet. Alexander was about to turn back but remembered he needed the firewood to keep the warmth running at home. He couldn't let his mother in the cold without any warmth. Alex could manage the cold better than his mother's condition.

Alexander came across his squad's spot, seeing a few chunks of wood lying on the ground. 

He _walked_ close to the pieces, crouching to grab at them. He took the biggest ones with him, soon taking the smaller masses. He didn't want to take all of it, so the wood wouldn't weight him down.

Alex never thought about it, but the meetup was far away from the town. It wasn't too deep into the forest but it wasn't close to the village either. 

As the man grabbed for one last piece of wood, he stood up. His eyes peered down at his basket, rearranging the pieces so they fit nice and snug before Alexander shut the lid on top.

When Alexander turned around, two sticks standing in his field of vision. At first, he thought they were these two skinny trees but he didn't couldn't remember having any behind him. Even if they were trees, there were no bark textures. It was more of a dog's skin texture.

He reached to touch it, feeling its smoothness.

**"What are you doing here?"**

Alexander jolted from the booming voice. He stepped away, dropping his basket on the ground. It landed with a thud and onto its side, letting the wood slip out. 

A _beast_.

By Alexander's angle, the creature covered the moonlight. The shadow gazed over him, forcing him to create his own image by focusing each and every detail.

Instead of feet, the creature had hooves like a horse's, with long legs that could stride over forty of Alexander's footsteps. His eyes scanned upwards, acknowledging the creature's appearance even further. It had long, skinny arms, long enough to reach and grab at its victims. Every individual bone in its hands was shown easily. The fingers were long and pointy. Alexander's eyes reached to the creature's torso region, looking at its ribcage. Was it hungry? That question made Alexander worry.

What shook him the about the monster's appearance the most was the actual head. Alexander assumed it would be similar to a wolf's head, but he was wrong. 

It resembled a deer's skull, with antlers poking out from the top of its boney structure. Sharp fangs delivered the intimidating touch. The beast's bloodshot eyes narrowed down to its next victim.

The beast reached out to touch him.

Alexander's blood grew cold. He squeezed his eyes tightly, tensing up into a stiff statue. His heart raced and pounded in his chest. He could sense the hand coming closer and closer. He bit his bottom lip, drawing blood from biting too hard. He winked one eye open slowly. The claws were right in front of his pupils. His eye stared at the appending hand, looking at the claws that could cut through his skin in one swipe. 

"I...I..." A loss of words.

The tension grew and the suspense was going to kill him before the monster could. 

**"Who are _you_?"**

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> https://royaltystudio.tumblr.com/


End file.
